Walmart partners with Humana to encourage healthier eating

By Michael Johnsen

Walmart last fall partnered with HumanaVitality on the Vitality Healthy Food program, where members earn Vitality Points for getting active, losing weight and eating healthier. Those Vitality Points can be redeemed on more than 600,000 rewards, including movie tickets and merchandise.

As part of that, HumanaVitality members have been given a card that collects 5% in savings for select products featuring Walmart's "Great for You" icon. The savings can be applied to a future Walmart visit.

This is one example of how healthcare payers will partner with retailers on "healthier" purchases going forward. It's the proverbial carrot incentivizing those healthier purchases. And while this program focuses primarily on food items, vitamins and other value-inducing OTC items can't be too far behind on what characterizes "Great for You."

"Ultimately we believe that the role will be to make the healthier choice the much more frequently chosen option, and therefore we're helping Mom fight for the health of her family," stated John Agwunobi, president of health and wellness of Walmart U.S.